Fun yet useful things to teach your horse to do on the ground/in hand

Something that I don't ever see at my barn is people teaching their horse things in hand. Everything is done under saddle. I want to bring a change to my barn... haha. Not really. So, since I will finally have a horse that is mine and for ME in the Spring, I want to bond with him and teach him things that are outside of the saddle. I don't really want to do stuff like bowing or whatever, but things that are useful. So far ere is my really great, long list of things: -Ground tying .... as you can see, I actually don't have many things on my list. Help?

Last edited by LifeIsGrand; 01-02-2012 at 09:30 PM.

“We’re all in the same game, just different levels; living the same h.e.l.l, just different devils.”

with the bowing, to make it even more useful then cool, make it a stretch after each ride. I know someone that uses the jolly ball for stretches so he can grab onto ball to do the stretch. She also has taught her to pick things up, including the jolly ball, so stretches are entertaining, and he bows for his under his belly stretch.

Other things just include desensitizing type stuff/ so messing around with a tarp, having him walk over it, rub it over them, etc, having a plastic bag at the end of a whip, finding other strange things that make noises, or look funny.

Oh, if you have one of those square platforms you can get them to walk up on to that.

If I think of other more useful ones too, I'll let you know.

"Remember to laugh 'cause you're living in a crazy world, where you'll never guess what could happen next." -- Owl City<3
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" -- Plato

I agree showmanship is an amazing thing to teach a horse. The learn to be aware of their body which helps on the ground and in the saddle. I also love to ground drive, great way to work those bum muscles. Then I love working with lunging as well, I work on getting my girl to take any gait from a stop or walk basically in the end this is teaching her to listen closely and learn her cues without all the extra cues in the saddle and getting her use to picking up her gaits quickly and quietly. I also have been teaching her to change directions without stopping on the lunge line. Basically she is going on direction and then turns in and cuts in front of me basically making a figure 8 shape and switching directions. Once they get good at it you can do it at a trot and eventually the canter and this is how I enforce lead changes. I also do a lot of backing on the ground. I get her use to backing circles and other shapes.

Really all there is to it is getting the horse to basically focus on what you do and move when you move. Like a big one me and my mare work on is picking up the trot when I jog. It took a while for her to get but she now does it with ease. Our new thing is stopping when I stop. You don't want to be dragging the horse around the arena you want them to completely focus on you and focus on how you move. I taught my mare with just a plain lead and halter, no chain. Pivots are a lot harder to teach but still very useful IMO. Basically you just want them to pivot on their back right leg as you walk towards their jaw area and you walk in a circle. You don't want them to pick up that back right leg. That's a harder concept for them to grasp but if you take it slow and you're consistant they will learn. It also helps increase their sale value if you ever decide to sell

Outside that showmanship is basically like manuverability with your horse, or that's what my mom calls it. Basically you want to be able to make them back around things and through cones, etc.

Here's a list of stuff (to add to what people have suggested). Let me know if you need explanations of any of it.

Backing
Turn on the forehand
Turn on the haunches
Carrot stretches (left, right, and between the front legs)
Lunging (teach your horse cues -- verbal or a noise or a gesture -- to go faster or slower right away. Teach him to come when called -- I did that with a friends horse last month, was great fun, and highly useful.)
Ground driving
Desensitizing
"Flagging" (you put a plastic bag or something wavy on the end of a lunge line and teach the horse not to fear it, eventually to the point where you can drag it on the ground in front of the horse and they will follow. Be VERY careful with this one.)